Sun Setting on The 2017 PGA Tour Season

For drama that has been created heading into the final chapter of The FedEx Cup Playoffs and the end of the PGA Tour golf season, this is one of the better years in recent memory. The number one player in the world, Dustin Johnson, won in dramatic fashion over world number two, Jordan Spieth, in Round One at The Northern Trust. The favorite for Player Of The Year, Justin Thomas, took home the trophy in Round Two at The Dell Technologies Championship, and last week, north of Chicago, Marc Leishman dusted the field wire to wire to win The BMW Championship. It has all set a tremendous stage for this week’s Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, Georgia.

The Playoffs began with the Top 125 players in the FedEx Cup Standings. It was then trimmed to the Top 100 and last week it was only the Top 70 in the field. This week at The Tour Championship, it is the final Top 30 players in the standings. With a win this week, any one of the Top 5 players in The FedEx Cup Standings, will win The Cup and the whopping 10-million dollar first prize that comes with the title of FedEx Cup Champion. Those five players in order are; Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas, Dustin Johnson, Marc Leishman, and Jon Rahm. Sitting right behind the Top 5 are; Rickie Fowler, Hideki Matsuyama, Justin Rose, Brooks Koepka, and Paul Casey. As you move on further down the standings, the scenarios for the lower seeds to win The Cup become much more complex and much less likely, so look for the chalk to cross the finish line – but adding to this is also the battle for PGA Tour Player of The Year. With a win this week, Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas, and Dustin Johnson can all make a strong case for being that man. A lot on the line this week in Atlanta and it ought to be a heckuva ride to close out the year.

East Lake Golf Club is a classic in golf’s history, being the stomping grounds of a young Bobby Jones’ for many years. It is a Donald Ross design that flourished in the 1920’s and 30’s. East Lake even hosted a Ryder Cup in 1963 but then went sour fast in the 70’s and 80’s and was nearly laid to rest before being completely resurrected by Rees Jones in 1994. The course is now a tree-lined Par 70 stretching to 7,385 yards and has been the permanent host to The Tour Championship since 2004.

The Favorites

Jordan Spieth (+579 Pinnacle) Number one in The FedEx Cup Standings, Jordan won here in 2015. He’s trying to become the first number one seed to win The Tour Championship since Tiger Woods did it in 2007. With a win, Speith would also join Woods as the only two time FedEx Cup Champions.

Dustin Johnson (+867 Pinnacle) The four-time winner on Tour this season has finished 6-5-5 in his last three trips to East Lake. He finished 2nd in The FedEx Cup race last year. Johnson also finished 4th at Pinehurst in the 2014 U.S. Open, another Donald Ross design.

Rickie Fowler (+1114 Pinnacle) The Bridesmaid tied for 2nd again last week, giving him is 8th Top 5 finish in 2017. His results at The Tour Championship are not all that stellar however, going 12-8-23 in the last three trips.

The Contenders

Jason Day (+1238 Bookmaker) Evidently switching caddies was not a big deal for Jason Day as he finished 4th last week at The BMW, his now 2nd Top 10 finish in the 2017 Playoffs. Like Dustin Johnson, Day too took 4th at Pinehurst in 2014 and has gone 10-4 his last two times playing East Lake.

Jon Rahm (+1373 Bookmaker) It is truly amazing that the 5th ranked player in the world is making his Tour Championship debut. He is arguably the hottest player coming in this week as he’s finished Top 5 in all three legs of The FedEx Playoffs thus far.

Justin Thomas (+1240 5Dimes) This is Thomas’ 2nd Tour Championship and it was last year in his first ever visit that he took 6th. He has the most wins on Tour this season with five, including his first ever Major, The PGA Championship. If Spieth or DJ don’t win this week, Thomas is likely The Player of The Year on Tour.

The Long Shots

Sergio Garcia (+2794 Pinnacle) It was back in April, not far from here that Sergio won The Masters. He’s been riding a high ever since and may feel that Georgia vibe again this week. He’s won at Sedgefield, another Donald Ross design where they host The Wyndham Championship, and he’s gone 9-9-15 here at East Lake in his last three visits.

Gary Woodland (+6454 Pinnacle) The long bomber has two Top 10 finishes in his last two trips to The Tour Championship and he hits plenty of greens in regulation. He finished 18th in Boston and 27th last week but missed the cut in the Playoff opener at The Northern Trust.

Jason Dufner (+8000 5Dimes) Dufner just barely snuck into the Top 30 in the standings to get here with a 58th place finish last week at Conway Farms. He has done very well here in the past with two Top 10’s in his last two appearances. He also took 14th at The Wyndham just one month ago.

The Pick

Webb Simpson (+4550 Bookmaker) We know Webb Simpson is The Wyndham Championship master with five Top 10 finishes including a victory in 2011. Another Donald Ross design, he took 45th at Pinehurst in 2014. His affinity for this style of design has shown up at East Lake too where he has two Top 5 finishes in his last three trips. Simpson has really had a tremendous year. He drives it straight, scrambles incredibly well and while his putting has always been a nemesis, he’s currently ranking 9th in The Playoffs for Strokes Gained Putting. No surprise, he has three Top 10 finishes in his last four starts. It is very likely that somebody from the Top 5 in the FedEx Cup points standings will win The FedEx Championship and the 10-million doubloons but Webb Simpson is my pick to win The Tour Championship.

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Author: Brady Kannon

My professional career in sports began in 1991 when I went to work for KSFO Radio in San Francisco as a sports reporter. I covered all Bay Area sports for three years before moving to Las Vegas to work for a national network, SportsFan Radio Network.
In Las Vegas I was introduced to sports wagering front and center, while producing a national football show with Dave Cokin. Frequent contributors to our show were Dr. Bob Stoll, Marc Lawrence, Jim Feist, and Tom Scott. I cut my teeth here in the science of handicapping - learning, listening, talking, and becoming good friends with all of these professionals. The first wager I placed in Las Vegas was a 25-1 winner on Thunder Gulch in The Kentucky Derby.
I left radio for the golf business and for 21-years I have been making tee times and running golf tournaments for visitors to Las Vegas, www.LVTeeTimes.com In 2011, I captained the 4-person team of Sans Souci and won The Las Vegas Hilton NFL SuperContest. We set the record for the highest winning percentage in the history of the contest at 72.5%.
Since winning The SuperContest, I have used my passion for both golf and football, to marry my hobbies with my profession. In doing so, I came up with the idea for a SuperContest Weekend and golf tournament to kick off the football season and the Westgate SuperContest. I now appear regularly on radio stations across the country to handicap golf events, NFL football, and appear weekly with Ken Thomson on SportsXRadio. I was a semi-finalist in The EOG 10K Handicapping Challenge in 2012, I am a back to back runner up in The Gaming Today Brawl For It All in 2013 and 2014, and am in my 12th year of competing in The Westgate SuperContest.